Russian President Vladimir Putin has claimed that a nuclear-capable hypersonic missile that can travel at 20 times the speed of sound has been deployed. He has further said that the missile that can travel at 20 times the speed of sound. If true it puts Russia ahead of other nations. BBC has reported that defence Minister Sergei Shoigu has confirmed that the hypersonic weapon system entered service on 27th December. He called it a "landmark event."

Avangard

Mr. Putin had indicated the development of the Avangard in his annual State of the Nation address last year.

As per the Russians, the weapon system is now developed and deployed. The weapon system was tested in December 2018. In the test, the missile was able to hit a target of 6000 km( 3700 miles) away in the Ural mountains.
The Avangard is a hypersonic missile system that is nuclear-tipped. It can carry a nuclear warhead of two megatons. It is generally to be mounted on an intercontinental ballistic missile and launched. The weapon can travel at 20 times the speed of sound. With its high-speed, the missile can at the moment penetrate most available-anti-missile shields.